Baltimore County paid $2.25 million to two political supporters of County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. for a marshy slice of waterfront property to be turned into a park less than a mile from his Millers Island home, raising questions about transparency even among the County councilmen who approved it.

Though the council unanimously voted in June to purchase the 8.5-acre parcel on Cuckold Point Road in Edgemere, at least three councilmen noted that the deal did not follow typical protocol. The county used its own money instead of money from Program Open Space, a state source that pays for many county park land purchases. The park is in a remote, partially flood-prone area already flush with parkland. And the councilmen say they’d never heard about the county’s interest in the parcel prior to it coming before the council in June. The agenda item didn’t include a street address, just the name of the street and the sellers.

“It seemingly came out of nowhere,” said Councilman Mike Ertel, a Towson Democrat who added that he voted for the purchase because he generally supports parks. “There is no vision for this, not that I know of, not that has been communicated to anyone on the council. What is the reason for buying this piece of land that is seemingly close to his [Olszewski’s] house?”

County officials do not have a concept plan for the site, located where the Back River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, but hope to use it as a kayak launch and park. Once considered for a proposed land swap with the state, the property had an old development plan on file for 19 residential lots. Real estate experts have said the owners likely wouldn’t have been able to develop that many because the land is in the floodplain.

The questions come as Olszewski runs for Congress in Maryland’s 2nd District, a race he’s heavily favored to win against Republican media personality Kim Klacik. Olszewski maintains he and county department leaders used the same “robust process” for this acquisition as they have for all other land buys during his tenure. The Democrat said the councilmen have not shared their concerns with him about the Cuckold Point deal.

Campaign finance records show the sellers, Norman T. Anderson and Catherine “Kay” Staszak, are longtime contributors to both the county executive and his father, John Olszewski Sr., who represented the county’s east side on the council from 1998 to 2014.

Staszak, a real estate agent and owner of the Full House Saloon in Sparrow’s Point, contributed at least $2,400 to the elder Olszewski’s campaigns starting in 2003 and has given about $1,000 to his son’s campaigns since 2012, which includes tickets to his campaign events. She also donated $100 in May to his congressional bid.

Anderson contributed around $950 to John Olszewski Sr.’s campaigns starting in 2007 and has given $190 to his son’s campaigns since 2014.

Olszewski said he does not know either seller, though he “knew of” Anderson because he lives in the area.

“I don’t involve myself in the transactions,” Olszewski said. “I pass them to the team.”

Over many years, the sellers purchased 21 tax parcels; some are zoned for houses, others for conservation. Staszak, who inherited half the interest in the Cuckold Point property from her father in 2000 after his death, hung up on a reporter; Anderson, who owns the other half, did not respond to a request for comment.

Why not use free state money?

Program Open Space is funded by a percentage of revenue from the real estate tax. Since 1970, Baltimore County has spent nearly $163 million in such funding to buy large public parks and nature centers as well as nearly 100 neighborhood and community parks. Counties often augment this funding if the price is over the appraised value.

Bob Smith, director of the county’s recreation and parks department, said that the agency determined the Cuckold Point land was “an attractive park opportunity due to its proximity to the waterfront and the opportunity to grow the green infrastructure network in the eastern part of the county.” The county had hoped to acquire the land and then transfer it to the state Department of Natural Resources in exchange for a portion of North Point State Park — a swap that would have precluded the use of state Open Space money. The county hoped to build a school with that land, Olszewski said.

DNR declined the county’s land-swap offer, spokesman Andrew Metcalf said, because Cuckold Point wasn’t adjacent to any state parkland and would have been “a challenge to manage.”

Smith said that because the county had already agreed to a contract with the sellers, the county moved forward with the purchase.

Olszewski said the county would have used Program Open Space money had he known the state would turn down the offer. But he said he saw nothing wrong with using the general fund. The county has used its own money in three other purchases out of a total of 21 since 2019. Two of those were under an acre. The third, at 8212 Liberty Road, is going to be a combined recreation center and library and likely would not have been eligible for Open Space funds.

“At the end of the day,” he said, “they’re all taxpayer resources to preserve open space.”

That doesn’t make much sense to Council Chairman Izzy Patoka, a Pikesville Democrat. “If you went into a store and you have a gift card, and it’s only good for that store, why not use the gift card before you put up your cash?” he asked.

A peninsula of parks

The county’s strategic plan highlights the need for park space in the Towson and Pikesville areas, and planners have long pushed for investments in urban areas inside the Baltimore Beltway.

Edgemere, which is outside the Beltway, is already home to several parks, including North Point State Park, Hart-Miller Island, Pleasure Island, and a 21-acre park under construction at Tradepoint Atlantic — the county’s first new park in six years. In addition, a deal to reopen Hart-Miller Island for dredging material would bring millions of dollars to the area for park improvements.

Some councilmen stress that it’s not always been easy to acquire land for parks in their districts.

Ertel has been asking the county for funds to purchase almost 13 acres of land behind St. Pius X Church, which is merging with another church as part of the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s church closure plan, at 6428 York Road. More than 100 residents of 12 Towson neighborhoods attended a recent meeting to attest to Towson’s needs for ball fields and recreation space; several offered to write checks to supplement the effort.

Ertel said county officials told him that they did not have the funds. St. Pius is appraised for the same amount as Cuckold Point, $2.25 million. Olszewski said the Archdiocese of Baltimore sought more than the property is worth, calling it a “significant delta.”

Patoka has been trying to preserve 2 acres at Old Court and Reisterstown Road without success.

“I have open space needs I’d like to get funded, and I went over them with the county executive, and they have not gotten funded,” said Patoka. “The county used to be much more specific in what they fund and why. Now, we don’t have any sense of it at all.”

Olszewski said his administration began with “zero properties” in the acquisition pipeline and has since spent $200 million. He’s not giving up on St. Pius or the Pikesville property.

“I don’t believe in pitting neighborhoods against each other,” he said. “I think we can, and should, make investments in all neighborhoods.”

A quiet purchase

The Cuckold Point deal is the latest example of the council approving large expenditures based on limited information from the administration. County officials introduce matters at work sessions, often with only short summaries. Then, the council votes on millions of dollars of expenditures en masse. Cuckold Point likely wouldn’t have elicited council discussion at all had Ertel not asked for it to be considered as a separate matter. Even then, discussion only lasted three minutes.

The county does not broadcast its interest in property for fear that speculators will drive up the price. But developing parks is usually a more public process.

Councilman David Marks, a Perry Hall Republican, has cobbled together two high-profile recent deals using Open Space funds: Radebaugh Park, a 3.76-acre jewel in Towson; and C.P. Crane, a former coal-fired power plant near Bowleys Quarters that will become an 83-acre waterfront park. He worked on both deals for at least two years, with lots of community meetings as well as outreach to federal and state government officials. Crane got $10 million in Open Space funds. The team celebrated with a press conference.

Ultimately, Marks said, he voted for Cuckold Point because the appraisals matched the price and he generally supports parks. Plus, he said, councilmanic courtesy — the practice of not intervening in each other’s districts — is strong. “We just don’t mess with other districts,” he said.

Frank Neighoff, president of the Millers Island Improvement Association, said he and county’s negotiators kept the Cuckold Point purchase quiet so as not to tip off competing developers. Neighoff wanted the park because the low-lying peninsula has poor drainage, no sidewalks and many older residents who enjoy walking.

Olszewski was not the force behind the acquisition, he said, but the county executive did ask him to keep the proposed purchase under wraps.

“It looked like a real long shot,” Neighoff said. “We didn’t think we would be able to buy it.”

It’s unclear how threatened the Cuckold Point Road parcel was by development. Anderson “never actually pursued” the plan he had on file, according to Neighoff.

Though the sale price was close to the appraised value, the appraisers did not do an extensive feasibility study of the property because they relied on the old concept plan.

Not the first questions

The park purchase is not the first time that councilmembers have complained about what some consider to be the county executive’s lack of transparency. An elected official, the county executive does not report to the council.

In 2016, Olszewski and his wife bought a lot at Baylight and Chesapeake Avenues from Philip Tirabassi, a real estate agent and county firefighter who had built their Millers Island home. A few years later, Tirabassi asked the county to add 2.8 years of service from his time in Baltimore City to his county service to increase his pension benefit. The county ultimately paid him $83,675, and reported it to the council as funds for “Philip Dough.” Councilmembers approved the payment; several now say the county obfuscated the funds’ real purpose, and have called on the county’s Inspector General to investigate.

The council also approved the purchase of a 30-year-old office building at 305 Washington St. for $5.8 million — $1.7 million more than its assessed value, according to state tax records. County officials assured councilmembers that the building was move-in ready. But repairs will cost $7.5 million, more than doubling the cost.

At one time, the building was owned by Blue Ocean, a company that Olszewski’s father was a lobbyist for in 2020. Blue Ocean sold it to 305 Washington LLC in 2019; it’s unclear who owns that entity now. Patoka chastised the county executive during his budget address for not disclosing those details.

Olszewski reiterated that his administration has been perhaps the “most transparent” in county history. “I’m happy to be, and always am, available to residents, to councilmembers — any questions they have,” he said.

Ertel still believes the county administration could be more transparent. “We are elected as the fiduciary for the citizens,” Ertel said, “and we’re often not given complete information.”